Known for its dry land, Kutch district is gaining its recognition as a fertile land for the ‘Kesar’ variety of mango. Closely competing with Saurashtra, Kutch is becoming a preferred place for Kesar mango. Farmers claim, drip irrigation from groundwater is supporting the prospects for Kutch to become a Kesar mango heartland - a title currently enjoyed by Gir Somnath district in Saurashtra.
The acreage of the fruit in the district has reported a sharp increase of about 1,700 hectares or 7 per cent rise at 10,033 hectares for 2017-18, as compared to about 6 per cent rise in mango acreage in Gir Somnath district at 14,820 hectares.
“The growth in mango cultivation in Kutch region is primarily attributed to the drip irrigation method and fertile land. This makes it a favourable condition for mango cultivation even in a place such as Kutch. More and more farmers are taking up mango cultivation by switching from conventional crops such as castor,” PM Vaghasiya, director of Horticulture, Government of Gujarat told
According to the data provided by the Horticulture department, mango production in Kutch has been promising. In the year 2015-16, Kutch produced 85,240 tonnes of mango, which jumped to 91,206 tonnes in 2016-17, which was the peak production. The output, however, dipped in 2017-18 to 72,739 tonnes.
“This year we expect better crop. Even as there is water shortage in the other parts of Kutch, we are able to provide adequate water due to drip irrigation through ground water. We are waiting for the canal network to get completed, which will further boost the prospects for Kutch to become a kesar land,” said Batuksinh Jadeja, a mango producer in Kutch. Jadeja has developed mango orchard in about 150 acres of land.
Currently, Mandvi, Mundra, Nakhatrana are some of the preferred talukas, where mango cultivation is being taken up. Jadeja believes that the Central part of the Kutch region, which has highly fertile land with limited exposure to agro chemicals, can create good opportunity for kesar mango cultivation.
According to government officials, the State support in the form of infrastructure development, market support for exports and subsidy for seeds and cultivation has attracted a large number of farmers in Kutch to take up mango as a key crop.
On the other hand, Gir Somnath is facing a climatic fury, which is feared to curtail mango output by almost 50 per cent as compared to previous year. A mango grower from Talala taluka in Gir Somnath, Rameshbhai Siroya informed that the increased moisture in the atmosphere and prolonged cold climate has spoiled the flowering on the mango trees.
“This year the crop will be much less than what we had expected earlier. The water availability wasn’t an issue in this region, as we had sufficient rains but the unexpected moisture and prolonged winter has spoiled the flowering,” said Siroya, who has a mango orchard on about 20 acres. “This year I expect the output to be half of what it used to be in a normal season. The rates, will obviously be higher, but with limited stocks, we may not be able to capitalise fully on our produce,” Siroya added.